"To be blunt, quality these days is crap," says Mr Watt, a repairman for 20 years who runs the consumer website ukwhitegoods.com.

According to the charity Wastewatch, 2.4 million fridges and freezers are thrown away every year in the UK. Those not exported to developing countries have to be carefully decommissioned to extract the ozone-depleting coolants used in the old days.

A survey earlier this year found households tended to keep fridges for 11-12 years, but according to Mr Watt, some new models would not last half that time.

As with most electrical goods, while prices have fallen, the cost of components has shot up, making repairs nearly pointless.

"A compressor drives the heat exchange, turning hot gas into cool liquid. It's the only moving part in most fridges and so is most likely to break," says Mr Watt.

Conspiracy theories

"A new compressor for a fridge that you bought for £250/£300 will cost you £150/£200 to buy and have fitted.

The Oldfield family fridge - distinctly cool

"If you tell a customer you can fix their fridge for £200 or they could buy a brand new one for £250, well, it's a no brainer. We've not fitted a new compressor in a fridge for two years now."